Mass Effect 3 beta, full story leaks

Reapers, Microsoft assumed to be responsible

It seems that there are those who got a taste of Mass Effect 3 before the March 6 release date, after a both a rough beta client was briefly uploaded onto Xbox Live, and the complete story files were leaked over the internet this weekend.

Though the beta was swiftly deleted, enough content was experienced by the NeoGAF forum to allow for a lengthy post examining the games introduction of Action mode, RPG mode, and Story mode, each altering the difficulty and decision-making aspects of the game to different degrees, as well as a handful of screenshots from the product. Bioware was quick to respond to the leak, saying that it was inadvertently released by a Microsoft employee, and for everyone to keep in mind that it’s a rough beta not meant for public consumption, thus we shouldn’t assume that the modes or the graphics from the screenshots are going to be exactly what we see come March. Microsoft took a different tactic toward addressing the leak, sending a cease-and-desist order to NeoGAF and making them take down the offending content.

In addition, complete story files for the game were leaked, though producer Jesse Howard claims that the files now available for public consumption are out-of-date and don’t represent the current state of the game, let alone what we’ll be getting at release date.

Bioware still expects the beta to be officially released in January, and barring more leaks, Mass Effect 3 will be coming to our homes March 6.